The Saudi King Abdullah told American President Barack Obama that his country would prop up Egypt if Washington cut its aid program, The Times reported on Thursday. Abdullah told Obama not to humiliate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a telephone call on January 29, the newspaper said, citing a senior source in Riyadh.

On January 28, the White House said the Obama administration would review $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt. The Saudi king made clear that the Egyptian President must be allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards peaceful democracy and then leave with dignity.

"Mubarak and King Abdullah are not just allies, they are close friends, and the King is not about to see his friend cast aside and humiliated," a senior source in the Saudi capital told The Times.

"With Egypt in chaos, the kingdom is Washington's only major ally left in the Arab world and the Saudis want the Americans to remember that," said a source in the Saudi capital.